Behind the Mask
by Bohemian Storm
Summary: *Chapter 2 added* During a special costume ball at Hogwarts, Sirius has an interesting encounter with another anonymous boy behind a mask and spends the rest of the year trying to find him.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**:  They all belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**Notes**:  The last thing I need is yet another chapter fic on top of three others and an original I'm working on, right?  Yes, well, this idea came to me and I just couldn't let it go.  This is slash, so if you don't like slash, I advise you to go away.

Dedicated to Andrea for her help, and to Nita because she created my interest in Sirius Black in the first place and because she's writing MtP Sirius.  Oh, I also hate my title.  It sounds like some 'VH1's Behind the Music' crap.

**Behind The Mask**

_By Bohemian Storm_

"Give a man a mask and he'll tell you the truth."

- Oscar Wilde

Chapter One

_A giggle in the darkened tower caught his ear and Sirius Black turned toward the noise.  The blonde Ravenclaw he'd had his eye on for a few weeks was leaning against one of the telescopes, smiling softly at him.  She was petite and adorable beyond words . . . she had been the one who had giggled seconds earlier.  He wanted her badly, he had had so many dreams about her._

_            "Sirius," she purred in a breathy voice.  It reminded him of that Muggle star, what was her name?  Marilyn Monroe.  His mother had been obsessed with her films and that voice, Merlin, that voice did things to him._

_            "Hi," he said softly.  He didn't know her name, but it didn't matter, not at a time like this.  They were beyond names and silly things like that._

_            "Do you come up here a lot?" she asked coyly._

_            He advanced on her.  "Not usually by myself."  He had to sound like a man, of course.  What seventh year Gryffindor hadn't come up to the Astronomy tower at least half a dozen times for a late night snog?    _

_            "I'm glad you came up here alone tonight," she purred in that same voice._

_            "So am I," he said, his fingers coming down over her hand that she had resting on the telescope.  Her fingers were warm beneath his and she turned her hand over to curl into his own. She was beautiful and for this night she was only his.  He could do anything he wanted, touch her and kiss her and no one would ever know._

_            Just as he leaned down to press his mouth against hers, she stiffened and backed away slightly._

_            "Do you always bring your friends up here with you?" she asked.  Her voice had changed.  It was harder and there was an accusation in her tone._

_            "What?" he asked, his face still inches from hers._

_            She ducked under his arm and crossed the room, pointing toward the door.  Sirius turned to follow her pointing finger and found Remus standing in the doorway of the Astronomy tower, a feral smile on his lips._

_            "Padfoot," his friend whispered._

_            Sirius blinked and stepped backward, wanting somehow to get away from Remus and that smile that made him look like a fierce predator.  He was terrified, his heart was pounding in his chest and he could feel nervous bile at the back of his throat.  _

_            And despite all that, he couldn't help but think that in that light his friend was beautiful.   _

            Sirius blinked and snapped quickly out of the daydream.  It had definitely taken an odd turn toward the end that he hadn't exactly expected.  He looked around the Great Hall that was bustling during the breakfast hour.  The blonde Ravenclaw that he'd been creating fantasies around was studying him with an amused grin on her face and it was only then that Sirius realized he had dipped his hand into his breakfast plate during the daydream.  With an embarrassed smile, he pulled it from the plate and set to cleaning it off.  Anything to make him forget the weird little daydream that had just snowballed out of his control.  Not that it was the first time he'd had a fantasy like that, far from it.  In fact, the others he had were usually worse and Remus didn't restrain himself like he had.

            It was stress, Sirius had determined.  Only stress.

            It was only two months before graduation and he had just recently slipped into the dreadful thing that Dumbledore referred to as 'senior stupor'.  It really wasn't as bad as the headmaster made it out to be, but Sirius knew his parents just might Avada Kedavra him if he failed all his N.E.W.T.s and exams.  Then again, if he pretended that exams weren't just around the corner, he could even drift into another daydream or two about the cute blonde at the Ravenclaw table and what she might let him do in the Astronomy tower.

            It was easy to picture, now if only it were as easy to actually get it done.  Rather than ruin the allure of mystery (as another Ravenclaw he had pursued so eloquently put it) they all just liked to lead him on.  Oh, he imagined it was fun for them, but Sirius didn't enjoy it quite as much as they seemed to.  He was an eighteen year old male, for Merlin's sake.  He had urges.  

            "Padfoot," James said quietly, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face.  "Stop staring at her, she'll think she has food on her face or something and will run screaming from the room in attempt not to further mar her beauty."

            Sirius arched an eyebrow.  "Hey, just because your girlfriend isn't blonde doesn't mean you can pick on the rest of the girls who are."

            James grinned.  "I'm just saying that some girls are better company than others and from my experience blondes are definitely the ones to steer away from."

            "Whatever you say, Prongs," Sirius muttered.

            "What's with you lately?" James asked, frowning.  "You're so . . . down.  School is almost over, you shouldn't be like this."

            Sirius shrugged.  "I can't help it.  I just want the year to be over already.  There's nothing left to look forward to except graduation.  Not to mention that you're sickening with Lily and Remus has been spending all his time with that Gryffindor in fifth year.  Even Peter has that girl from Hufflepuff that he's been mooning over for months now."

            James grinned.  "Are you telling me you're jealous?"

            "No," Sirius snapped.  "Well . . . yeah, maybe."

            "Just because you're jealous doesn't mean you should cling to the first cute blonde who lets you do Merlin knows what in the Astronomy tower, Padfoot."

            Sirius frowned.  "Haven't got her up there yet," he mumbled.

            "What?" James asked.

            "I said that I haven't gotten her up to the tower yet," Sirius said loudly.

            Remus looked up from across the table and blinked a few times at his friend.

            "Well, that was tasteful and discreet," he said finally.

            "Zip it, Moony," Sirius said, slumping down on the bench.  

            Remus blinked again, looking a little hurt by the sharp edge in Sirius's voice, but he let it go as he returned to his meal.  It wasn't as though he wanted to hurt his friend, but the quickly fading daydream gone wrong was still a little too in his mind.  He certainly didn't want to remember Remus intruding in his fantasy and more than ever, he did not want to remember thinking that his friend was beautiful, of all things.  A little annoying sometimes, yes.  Incredibly intelligent, yes.  Beautiful?  Not likely.

            Things had just been so strange for him lately.  Everyone was growing up around him, except for him it seemed.  Was he the only one out of his friends that wanted to stay at Hogwarts forever?  The idea of the real world was just too scary for an eighteen year old, not to mention the fact that their real world was currently being war torn by a Dark Wizard with a secret agenda.

            "Look, Moony," he began, an apology on his lips, but Dumbledore's warm voice cut him off as it spread over the Great Hall.

            "Students," he said, clapping his hands together once.  "I have an announcement to make before you head off to your classes.  I realize that many of you are preoccupied with exams, as well as the safety of your families who are fighting the brewing war, so the staff has come to a decision about these last few weeks you spend here before summer."

            Sirius frowned, but straightened up and listened.

            "We have decided to give you an extra ball this year and this one can be attended by all the students in the school, first, second and third years included."

            A cheer went up among the younger students at this announcement and they all started to talk excitedly about what it would finally be like to attend one of Hogwarts' famous balls.

            "There is a dress code, however," Dumbledore continued above the din.  The voices fell at this announcement, but Dumbledore simply smiled.  "This is to be a classic sort of Costume Ball.  I want the rules of this to be very clear to everyone.  Whatever you choose to wear must mask a theme you've picked that is reflected in a mask.  No glamour spells whatsoever will be permitted as an excuse for a costume.  I want to see each and every one of you fashion a mask of some sort that will hide the upper half of your features."

            Another little smile crossed his mouth.  "It appears some people are far more brave when behind the confines of a simple mask."

            Giggles ran up and down the tables as girls began to whisper excitedly about all the boys they could ask to dance without ever having to reveal who they were.

            "If any students are unsure of what kind of masks I am referring to, there is an extensive section on Muggle studies in the library and I have been assured that there are many pictures of what I expect, "Dumbledore continued.  "Feel free to make use of the library now, if ever."

            The older students chuckled at this.

            "You are dismissed.  Head off to your classes."

            By the time Sirius got to the door of the Great Hall, Peter, James and Remus had caught up with him.

            "Another ball," Peter said excitedly, his eyes shining.  "And we have to wear masks!"

            Remus grinned.  "Yeah, so you can finally stop stalking Diane and ask her for a dance."

            Peter flushed a deep red, then elbowed Remus sharply in the side.

            "And you said there was nothing left to look forward to but graduation," James said, nudging Sirius softly.

            "We can't see each others' costumes," Remus said excitedly.  

            James looked at him.  "What?"

            "We shouldn't see each others' costumes," he repeated.  "We should create them and then go to the ball separately and see if we can actually pick each other out of the crowd."

            Peter nodded.  "Then we'll see if we really know each other as well as we think."

            "What about dates?" James asked.  "I'm going to go with Lily and we all know that Padfoot won't be able to go without a date."

            "I hadn't planned on asking anyone," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

            "Well, whatever happens you can take your date, but then we can't see your date's costume either," Remus explained.  "C'mon, guys, this will be so interesting."

            Peter nodded.  "Yeah, c'mon."

            James shrugged.  "I guess so.  How about you?" he asked, nudging Sirius again.

            "Hmm?"  Sirius looked up.  "Oh, yeah.  Sure, that sounds good."

            "We need to get to Transfiguration," James said, grabbing Peter by the elbow and leading him toward the stairs.  "We'll see you two in Potions."

            Sirius nodded, then followed Remus down the hall toward their Muggle Studies class.  Both James and Peter had opted out of taking it, but Sirius and Remus had continued right up until their seventh year.  It was an easy course and both their marks were remarkably high, especially considering they spent little time actually taking notes in that class.

            "You, my friend, need to lighten up," Remus said.

            Sirius blinked.  "What?"

            The smile on Remus's face immediately disappeared.  "Look," he began.  "You've haven't been yourself lately and I just want to know what's going on."  His hand touched Sirius's arm.  "You can trust me, Padfoot."

            Sirius smiled, shutting his eyes and just letting the warmth of Remus's hand spread down his arm.  Yeah, he could trust his friend, but so what?  Did he honestly think that Remus would be able to handle knowing that he had recently captured himself a starring role in Sirius's fantasies?

            "It's nothing, Moony," he lied with that same smile.  "I'm just worried about finals, that's all."

            Remus stared at him.  "Are you sure?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine."  Sirius grinned and nudged them toward the classroom door.  "Let's get in there before Professor Shaughnessy manages to finally figure out a punishment for the two of us."

            Remus snorted.  "You know she never will.  She's a little . . . how can I put this delicately?  Enthralled by your charms?"

            Sirius grinned.  "My charms, eh?"

            Remus just rolled his eyes as they stepped into the classroom.  "Yeah, Padfoot.  Your charms."

            They took their seats, making rude comments and laughing hysterically like they were so often prone to do in that classroom.  Remus dropped his books onto the desk top a second later and Sirius slung his bag beside them.  Professor Shaughnessy had yet to make her grand entrance, so the two continued talking, mostly about the ball, but also about Quidditch and exams.  

            They were deep in a discussion about who would win the next Quidditch cup when a heavy leather bound book was dropped onto their desk.

            Sirius jumped and looked up to see Professor Shaughnessy's smiling face.

            "I assume you've all heard about the ball," she said, continuing up the aisle and dropping books on each desk.  "I thought this would be an excellent kickoff to our unit on Muggle mating rituals."

            Remus glanced sidelong and raised an eyebrow at Sirius, which sent the other into silent fits of laughter.

            "Mating rituals?" Sirius mouthed, fingering the corner of the book.  

            "Often, in upper class society before the twentieth century, men and women would meet and court at costume balls such as the one you'll be attending next weekend," Shaughnessy continued.  "On your desks you'll find a book filled with information and pictures about these balls.  I thought they might be useful to those of you who are in need of some ideas and would also be a fantastic way to learn about what they wore and how they acted."  She smirked directly at Sirius.  "Merlin knows a few of you need to learn how to properly court a lady."

            "Open the books," she said, nodding at them all.  "I'll give you some time to browse through the chapters before we start on anything really serious."

            Sirius flipped open the book he and Remus had been given and glanced at the picture on the first page.

            "Is he wearing tights?" he asked, cocking his head.

            Remus started with wide eyes.  "Uh huh.  And I think they were vacuum packed onto him."

            Sirius snickeredthen let his eyes wander to the mask the man was wearing.  It was painted midnight blue and covered in dark feathers.  The woman on the next page wore a similar mask, though the lines were more defined and feminine looking.  Hers was painted a soft blue, but there were no feathers that decorated this one.  

            "Whoa," Remus breathed, pointing at another mask.  It was a flaming red colour and something across the cheek bones shimmered in the light.

            "We have to make these?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide.

            "You're a wizard, Mr. Black," Shaughnessy said from over his shoulder.  "I'm sure you'll find a way to create one if these Muggles could do it without magic in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries."

            He grinned at her.  "Are you sure about that Professor?  I might need some extra help after class."

            Shaughnessy arched an eyebrow, then shook her head and walked away.

            "Oh, yeah, she wants me bad," Sirius said, grinning stupidly at Remus.

            Remus wasn't even paying attention to the conversation that had gone on between his friend and the teacher.  He was enthralled with an off white mask that was displayed on the next page of the book.  

            "That's amazing," he said.

            "It's so plain," Sirius replied.

            Remus studied it.  "The simplicity is what's amazing."

            Sirius looked at his friend.  "I think the masks are going to your head.  You won't make it through an entire ball with girls under these masks, will you?"

            Remus elbowed him.  "I'll be fine, thank you.  How will you, Mr. I'm-So-Suave-And-Debonair-Oh-Holy-LORD-That's-A-GIRL survive?"

            "I'm not like that," Sirius said.  "I can handle women."

            Remus snorted.  "Oh, yeah, you 'handle' them well."

            "Shut up, Moony," Sirius said, trying not to smile.  "Just because you have issues with the ladies doesn't mean that I have those same issues."

            "Right," Remus said with a grin.  "You're a regular ladies man, that's what you are.  You have girls flocking to you from every corner and . . ." he trailed off and looked at Sirius's smirk.  "Dammit, you do have girls flocking to you from every corner."

            Sirius grinned triumphantly.  "That I do.  You, on the other hand, Moony, are in dire need of a girl, not to mention my help in order to get you one."

            "I don't need your help," Remus replied.  "Sandra is perfectly-"

            "Fifteen?" Sirius asked, then cackled.

            "Boys," Professor Shaughnessy interrupted them.  "How about you get a little work done.  These pictures might really help with the ball."

            Remus let out a little sigh as he looked at the mask again, then smiled at Sirius.

            Sirius smiled back, then returned to the book.  He was suddenly really looking forward to this ball.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

            Professor Shaughnessy was looming over him and he didn't understand why.  She held a huge leather book in her hands, raising it above her as if to bring it down on Sirius's head with a sickening crack.  Her smile was horrible, everything about her seemed horrible.  She had a glint in her eye like she wanted nothing more than to see Sirius Black dead at her feet.

            He trembled.  He was absolutely terrified of her.  He wanted to run, but his feet wouldn't obey his brain, so he just stood there and waited for the moment when the world would go black.

            "Don't," a soft voice said.

            Shaughnessy stiffened, then turned to look at the door of the classroom.  Sirius followed her gaze and found Remus advancing on them.  He had that same smile on that he had worn in the astronomy tower, only this time it didn't frighten Sirius like it had before.

            "Don't hurt him," Remus said, his voice still soft.

            Shaghnessy grinned again and raised the book.

            "Don't hurt him," Remus repeated.  

            He stepped between them seconds later and his hand wrapped around her wrist.  Sirius wondered briefly why he hadn't done that earlier, but his arms seemed to suddenly be filled with lead.

            The book fell to the side and hit the edge of a desk before toppling to the floor.  As the book fell, Shaughnessy simply disappeared, her body drifting away into nothingness.

            "You're safe now," Remus said, finally turning to Sirius.  The dim light of the classroom was reflected in his golden eyes.  "She can't hurt you."

            "Why did she . . ." Sirius trailed off, unsure of what he wanted to ask.

            "She's jealous," Remus replied.

            "Jealous of what?"

            "Us."  That smile was back, spreading across his mouth.  

            "Moony," Sirius began, but the mouth on his was the answer to his unspoken question.

            With an assuredness that certainly wasn't like Remus, Sirius's shirt fell off his shoulders and he glanced down at it questioningly.  This was weird, this was wrong, this wasn't what he wanted.

            And yet, it was everything he wanted.

            Everything seemed so wrong and reversed.  He was the confident one, not Remus.  He was the one with steady hands and calm breaths, while Remus would surely be trembling and drawing in ragged, petrified breaths of air.

            The only agitated breathing in the room was his own and the only shaking fingers were his as well.  Remus seemed too confident to be real, smooth, steady hands gliding over Sirius's shoulders to lock around his waist and pull him closer.  The heat from his friend's body cascaded over him like water and he gasped weakly, closing his eyes tightly.

            By the time he felt strong enough to open his eyes once more, the classroom had been replaced by the dormitory and Sirius knew by the unmoving form across the room that Remus had been asleep for hours.

            His dreams were getting worse.

*    

            As Sirius found out over the next week, creating a mask with a costume to go along with it wasn't exactly easy, especially when he couldn't let his friends see what he was doing.  James and Lily had taken to sneaking off after dinner, but Sirius was more than certain that they weren't spending their free time on anything but the costumes.  Peter had already accidentally revealed his to everyone when he had tried to sneak a dark green robe through the common room, then tripped on the hem and fell to the floor with a crash that attracted everyone's attention.  Remus was stealing away to the library every chance he had, so Sirius was stuck working alone in the Astronomy tower.

            It was easy to justify his choice to anyone else; the Astronomy tower wasn't exactly buzzing with people during the day, but he knew he had picked it with another reason in mind.  A reason that he preferred to pretend didn't exist at all.  Not that life was simple without these subconscious fantasies, but it was easier.

            With a deep breath, he unwrapped the mask he had begun and stared at it.  To his eyes it was boring; a full face mask, plain black, that was it.  It was just . . . black.

              _The simplicity is what's amazing._

            "Get outta my head, Moony," he growled softly.

            He had conjured up the shape a few nights ago, soft lines and curves that really fit his face perfectly.  The next night he had painted it black (by hand, no less) and had spent the next few nights trying to decide what he could possibly add to it and what in the world his costume was going to be.  

            "You're causing a lot more stress than you're worth," he scolded the mask, leaning against a stone wall and staring at it.  "When I think about it, you're really quite annoying."

            The mask blinked.  "I really do resent that implication, sir."

            If Sirius hadn't spent the last seven years in a school with talking pictures, he might have very well dropped the mask and watched it shatter on the floor.

            "You can speak?" he asked the mask.

            He supposed that if the mask had shoulders, it probably would have shrugged right around that time.

            "I'm a magical creation, aren't I?" the mask asked.

            Sirius looked sideways at it.  "Are you going to do this while you're on my face?"

            The mask laughed heartily.  "Oh no, sir.  We masks lose our ability to speak when our eyes are covered or we're being worn.  Could you imagine the chaos if we were to all be speaking over your voices at a ball?"  The mask blinked and Sirius thought it looked downward.  "Speaking of the ball, aren't I only supposed to be a half mask?  You'll have to charm the bottom half of my face off, you know."

            "Will you still be able to speak?"

            "I'm afraid not, sir.  If I have no mouth, how would I speak?"

            Sirius shrugged.  "I guess I should do that then, should I?"

            "Before you do, may I please ask you a question?" the mask inquired.

            Sirius shrugged.  "Sure, why not?"

            "Do you have a date for this ball? A girl in your year who will accompany you?"

            Sirius frowned.  "Why?  What does it matter?"

            "I only ask in order to help you, sir," the mask said.  "If you were to tell me about her costume, I could offer pointers on how to decorate me to best compliment her."

            Sirius shook his head.  "There's no date."

            "No date."  The mask smiled at him.  "Proceed then, sir.  Charm off the bottom half of my face and silence me forever.  I'll never speak again, but I suppose that doesn't matter to you, does it?  You just concentrate on the ball and never worry about having to hear from me again."

            Sirius grinned.  "Sounds good."  With a muttered charm, the mask was silenced and he lay it flat on the floor to study it once again.

            "Are you working up here all alone?"  The voice startled him and Sirius tried to cover his mask quickly before realizing it wasn't one of his friends.

            No, it was much worse than one of his friends.  It was the cute blonde Ravenclaw.

            "Uh, yeah," he stammered.  "My friends and I are sort of keeping our costumes secret from each other."

            Her big blue eyes widened even further.  "Oh, that's such a good idea."

            Sirius smiled.  "I'm Sirius Black, by the way."

            The blonde laughed at this like it was the funniest joke she had ever heard.  "Oh, that's great.  Do you honestly think that I don't know who you are?"

            "Well . . ." he trailed off, looking guilty.  "I don't . . . exactly know your name."

            She shrugged.  "You can't know everyone, can you?"

            He swallowed.  "Nope.  Guess not."

            "I'm Allison," she said.

            He smiled tightly.  "Hi."

            She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and he narrowed his eyes.  Weren't Ravenclaws supposed to be smart?  Why was she acting like an idiot?

            "Do you . . . well, do you have a date for the ball?" Allison asked, her eyes going wide again.

            Sirius arched an eyebrow.  She was acting like an idiot in hopes to get him to go to the ball with him?     "Nope," he answered carefully.  He really didn't want her to ask him to be her date.  It was silly because only three days earlier he had been creating regular fantasies based around this girl and now . . . now all he wanted was for her to leave him alone.       

            "No?" she repeated in mock surprise.

            "Did you expect me to have one?" he asked.

            The girl smiled.  "Well, you're Sirius Black, aren't you?"

            He eyed her carefully.  "Thought we'd already established who I was."

            The girl - no, Allison looked slightly taken aback with his abrupt response.  Her eyelashes fluttered prettily, though he was certain that she wasn't doing it on purpose this time.  She brushed her hands nervously down the front of her robes and Sirius noticed for the first time the badge pinned to her robes that clearly stated she was a prefect.  He rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly.  It would be just his luck to upset a fifteen year old prefect.

            "I'm sorry," he said immediately.  "It's just that I'm a little nervous that one of my friends will see my costume."

            Her face brightened immediately.  "That's fine.  I shouldn't be up here right now anyway.  I have OWLs this year and I really ought to be studying for them."

            Sirius smiled stiffly.  "That's an idea, isn't it?"

            Allison stared at him for a long moment, then smiled flirtily and bounced away from the tower door.  Sirius stared at the place she had been for a moment longer, then turned back to his mask.  It was still just black.

            "This is hopeless," he groaned, leaning against the wall.  His costume itself had turned out to be nothing more than a black Muggle tuxedo.  He thought it looked rather dashing, but the mask couldn't just be black if the rest of his costume was that boring.  

            "I hate you," he growled, standing up finally and stuffing the mask into his bag.  "Good for nothing pain in the ass," he muttered.

            He was going to go back the common room and actually study for once, rather than wasting his time on the blasted mask.  Nothing was happening anyway and he wasn't about to waste away his entire night waiting for inspiration to hit.  

*

            "Do mine eyes deceive me?"

            Sirius rolled his eyes and attempted to look back at the Potions textbook he had actually begun to study.  The last thing he needed this late at night was another bout of harassment from his friends.   He had no doubt that they'd actually spent their night doing something productive, whereas he had stared at a mask for hours, then pretended to study for another few hours before actually getting around to doing it.

            Remus dropped down to sit on the couch next to Sirius.  "You actually studying there, mate?"

            "Don't call me mate," Sirius growled, half playfully.

            Remus grinned.  "Don't like that, eh, mate?"

            "Sod off," Sirius replied.

            James sat down in a chair across from them and glared at Remus in mock disapproval.  "Moony, can't you see that young Sirius here is trying to study?  This is a rare and momentous occasion that must be remembered forever."

            Peter snickered.  "A moment of silence?"

            James nodded very gravely.  "I think that a moment of silence is most definitely called for.  Let's bow our heads and pray for the safety of Padfoot's previously unopened Potions book."

            Sirius scowled at his friends as they all bowed their heads and folded their hands, while looking completely relaxed and, of course, quite sacrilegious.  

            "You guys just don't know a good idea when you see one," Sirius retorted.

            "The moment of silence . . ." Remus looked up, his eyes wide.  "He destroyed the moment of silence."

            "Shut up," Sirius snapped, then stuck his tongue on at his friends and pretended to go back to studying.

            "Ouch, Padfoot," James said.  "Just . . . ouch."

            "Oh, sod off," Sirius said, smiling at him.  "Nothing hurts James Potter, the great and wonderful ruler of Hogwarts."

            Remus shook his head.  "You're getting my title mixed up with Prongs'.  I'm the great and wonderful ruler of Hogwarts and he's the great and wonderful ruler of Quidditch."

            "And what am I?" Sirius asked.

            Remus seemed to consider this for a very long moment before he said, "The great and wonderful ruler of all things female."

            "And me?" Peter asked in excitement.

            James arched an eyebrow.  "The great and wonderful Rat King?"

            Sirius and Remus broke into laughter as Peter frowned, wondering if being the great and wonderful Rat King was nearly as good as the other three titles.

            "How are everyone's costumes coming along?" Sirius asked, trying to sound casual.

            Remus just smiled and shrugged.  "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about them."

            "I just want to know if anyone is having as much trouble as I am," Sirius said defensively.

            James shrugged as well.  "Lily made me promise that I wouldn't say a word about it."

            "So you two have costumes?" Sirius asked.

            James shrugged a second time.

            "You just have to wait for inspiration to hit," Remus said.  "If you're having trouble you're probably trying too hard."

            Sirius arched an eyebrow.  "There's less than a week to the ball and you're suggesting that I wait for inspiration to hit?  What if inspiration never hits?"

            James grinned.  "Guess you'll just have to go naked."

            Remus laughed.  "The rest of the school might enjoy that a little too much."  His laugh turned into a wicked laugh.  "Especially Shaughnessy."

            Sirius rolled his eyes.  As soon as his friend got started on Shaughnessy he knew that he was in for a night or two of ridicule and laughs at his expense.  It wasn't that they thought the professor had any special interests in Sirius, but she did joke around with him more than with any other student.  Perhaps it was just that Sirius was easy to talk about, but his friends loved to pick up on anything they could with Sirius.  He was the most popular at Hogwarts, especially with the girls, and they'd take any ammo they could when it came to teasing their friend.

            "Wonder if she'll have a costume for the ball," James said thoughtfully.  "Maybe she'll use that as a cover and seduce Padfoot."  He winked at Remus, then stood and crossed over to Sirius while throwing his robes over his head.

            "Sirius," he purred in a ridiculously feminine voice.  "May I . . . have this dance?"

            "Sod. Off." Sirius snapped.

            James giggled uncontrollably and batted his eyelashes from behind the robes that covered half his face.  "Oh, Sirius, you're so FUNNY!"

            Sirius rolled his eyes and looked back at the book.

            James dropped his robes a second later and plunked down on the other side of Sirius.  He glanced across his friend to catch Remus's eye and James shrugged.  Remus nodded sideways at the dormitory door and James nodded a second later.

            "Hey, Wormtail, let's get upstairs and work on your costume."

            Peter blinked.  "I'm done my-"

            "Let's go," James snapped, grabbing Peter by the arm and pulling him toward the dorm.

            "You okay, Padfoot?" Remus asked once they were gone.

            Sirius looked up at him.  "You keep asking me that."

            "Well, you keep acting weird, so I keep asking."

            Sirius shook his head.  "Look, I'm fine, alright?  Am I the only one that notices that the year is ending?"

            Remus glanced skeptically at the potions book.  "You're not studying.  I know you're not studying."

            Sirius smiled.  "Fine, I'm not studying."

            "Then what is it, Padfoot?"

            Sirius looked at Remus and sighed.  He wondered if Remus knew more than he was letting on.  He wondered if Remus had noticed that Sirius couldn't even look him in the eye anymore, or wouldn't, one of the two.  He wondered if Remus had noticed how hard it was for Sirius to carry on a conversation with him.  He was always worried that something would get in the way, that he would say something stupid, or something would reveal to Remus all the dreams Sirius had been having.  

            "It's nothing," he said finally, smiling again.  "It's really nothing.  I guess I'm just stressed over the costume."

            "If you want my help I won't tell the others," Remus offered.

            Sirius shook his head.  "Nah, I'll manage on my own.  And when you see this costume, Moony, it's going to blow you away."

*


End file.
